Chapter 9: Not my cup of tea (or coffee)

-

Hae Young smiled a really forced and fake smile at her mirror. She looked prettier (that was the good part) but she seemed fake; just like one of those common, plastic Barbies.

Hae Young detested Barbies. The way they look into her eyes paired with that grin that shows off its equally unreal pearly whites scared her.

It gave her a good enough reason to remove all the makeup off her face.

But no, she wouldn’t. She mustn’t.

For she thinks that she needs to impress.

So Hae Young stayed put and tried to exit her apartment as confidently as possible, a handbag in hand.

She’s trying too hard when she doesn’t really need to do it.

But Hae Young didn’t realise that.

-

Calm down. You can do this.

Hae Young took a deep breath before pushing the café’s glass door open and entered slowly, trying her best to look graceful.

Now, all it takes to fail is a little slip (she was wearing high heels) and that’s it.

But she needs to make this so-called ‘mission’ a great success, so failure must not come into the picture.

The little frills of her dress bounced up and down and her flashy, reflective earrings caught not only light, but the attention of the other customers for quite a while. Only when she when she sat at a seat with not much sunlight around, people turned away and resumed their activities.

Not Daehyun.

Sure, he was stunned and all, but he frowned. Hae Young saw that and took it as a bad sign that her choice of clothes and accessories didn’t really come to Daehyun’s liking.

Her guess was dead on.

She went over to the counter where Daehyun was, her facial expression showing how confused and disapointed she was at Daehyun’s not-so-thrilled reaction.

“Dae, a mocha please,” she said.

Instead of smiling at her and getting straight to the job, he stared deep into her eyes, as if searching for a certain emotion. He then simply turned around and started working on the drink she had ordered.

Hae Young sighed and went back to her seat.

I knew I should’ve listened to my conscience.

-

“Can you wait for me until the shop closes? You don’t have anything going on tonight, right?” Daehyun asked, placing the mocha on the table and holding the tray in his other hand.

Hae Young didn’t even look up; she didn’t want to look at him anymore. She just nodded, and Daehyun went back to his place.

It’s been about a week since they met, and things have been going really weirdly. Hae Young sorted all the significant happenings within the eight days.

First, my coffee machine broke down, and I visited this place. That’s day 1.

Then the second time I came, Daehyun wasn’t here. Himchan was, and I was moody. She blushed a bit, remembering her little 'incident'.

Then it all leads up to now, me being pathetic.

Liking someone in eight days is pretty fast.

Well, I never liked being slow.

-

It was a wonder how Hae Young stayed awake waiting for Daehyun (or maybe not; she drank coffee, so maybe that’s why).

Daehyun approached her after changing out of his staff attire and cleaning the place up.

“I’m sorry you had to wait. Alright, let’s go,” his face was still as stony as before.

Hae Young got up and smoothed her skirt out, playing with its frills as she walked out of the café.

Daehyun locked the place up and walked ahead of her. Hae Young quickened her pace so as not to lose sight of him.

“Where are we going?” she managed to squeak.

“Just follow me, no more questions.”

-

Hae Young looked around her. She could make out the outlines of some objects dark room Daehyun brought her into. She let her eyes adjust to the sudden light when Daehyun switched on the light bulbs of that belonged to one of those Hollywood mirrors.

At that moment, Hae Young could see cosmetic products lined up neatly on the little table attached to the mirror. She turned away; it was not the right time to see them again.

“Sit down.”

She followed his orders, placing her handbag on the floor before sitting down.

“Don’t move for awhile and don’t speak,” Daehyun took a cotton pad and a bottle of makeup remover.

When he was done, he finally smiled for the first time that day.

Jung Daehyun was satisfied.

“You can open your eyes now,” he said in a lighter, much happier tone.

Hae Young looked into the mirror, a clean face staring right back at her. She frowned; the reflection also followed suit.

“Huh?” was all she can let out.

Daehyun chuckled; those were times he liked her the best.

Pure, plain, herself.

“You know, I prefer cheesecakes plain; no extra chocolate or things like that. Just like how I prefer your face now to that face earlier. It’s just not my cup of tea, or coffee, to suit the situation better. Plus, chocolate cheesecakes cost more than normal cheesecakes, which are not only the original, but also my favourite. That makeup is just like the chocolate chessecake I mentioned, if you get what I mean.”

And with that, the tense atmosphere from before vanished, replaced by a friendly one, or something more than that, with the two smiling at each other.

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Finally, this chapter is done!

I’m sorry it took so long; even after the exams, my life is still as busy (not to mention dramatic) as before.

So yeah, Daehyun is one of those dudes who don’t love makeup (at least in my story). It’s a good thing too; if he gets a lady, she doesn’t need to waste her money and get early wrinkles on her face XD

I’ll be working on more updates, so stay tuned and anticipate it, alright?

Comments are very appreciated, so please, comment!

Sweet like --strawberries